Second choice Sonodo high school student Lee Geun-jun was nominated… Kim Bo-bae, a ‘3rd year college student’, went to DB in 3rd place
‘Three high school graduates’ nomination record… Jeong Seong-jo, a member of the club, was selected by Sono and went pro.
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Professional basketball rookie draft high school graduate Park Jeong-woong |
(Goyang = Yonhap News) Reporter Choi Song-ah = Anyang Jeong Kwan-jang, a professional basketball player, selected high school student Park Jeong-woong as the first overall pick in the rookie draft.
Coach Jeong Kwan-jang Kim Sang-sik called Park Jeong-woong’s name after receiving the first overall pick in the 2024 KBL rookie player draft held at Sono Arena in Goyang on the 15th.
Park Jeong-woong, born in 2006, is currently a third year student at Hongik University High School.
This is the second time in four years and the second time in history that a high school graduate was selected first overall in the professional basketball rookie draft, after Cha Min-seok (Samsung) in 2020.
Park Jeong-woong, who is 192.7 cm tall and can play both guard and forward, led the team as captain of Hongik University High School and showed good performance in various competitions, and also played for the U-18 national team.
Director Kim Sang-sik prepared a panel with Park Jeong-woong’s photo in advance and held it up when he was selected as the first choice. He called Park Jeong-woong and announced that he had chosen him early on.
Park Jeong-woong, wearing the Jeong Kwan-Jang uniform with the number ‘4’ given to him by Coach Gam, expressed his gratitude to Jeong Kwan-Jang, school officials, and his family, and expressed his ambition, “I will work hard to become a good player and write another ‘high school graduation legend.'” revealed.
Goyang Sono, which had the second pick, also selected Gyeongbok High School forward Lee Geun-jun (194.3 cm), making it the first time in the history of a professional basketball draft that a ‘high school graduate rookie’ swept the first and second overall picks.
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Pro Basketball Rookie Draft Park Jeong-woong, Lee Geun-jun, Kim Bo-bae, Son Jun |
Wonju DB, which holds the third-place pick, took Kim Bo-bae, a third-year center at Yonsei University. At 202 cm, Kim Bo-bae is the tallest among the participants in this draft.
Lee Geun-jun expressed his thoughts, saying, “I will work hard to become a professional and become a player that everyone can recognize,” and Kim Bo-bae said, “I will do my best to repay DB and show steady growth and development.”
Daegu Korea Gas Corporation recruited Myongji University forward Jun Son, who has a British father and Korean mother, with the 4th pick, and Dongguk University forward and center resource Lee Dae-gyun was ranked 5th overall and wore the Ulsan Hyundai Mobis uniform.
Seoul SK, which had the 7th pick in the first round through a trade in addition to the existing 6th pick, selected Korea University guard Kim Tae-hoon and Yonsei University guard Lee Min-seo, respectively.
Seoul Samsung took Chung-Ang University forward Lim Dong-eon, Suwon KT took Konkuk University guard Cho Hwan-hee, and Busan KCC took Sungkyunkwan University forward Cho Hyuk-jae in the 8th to 10th rankings, respectively.
KCC, which was the first to exercise its right to draft in the second round, selected Songdo High School forward Chan-young Lee, and all three high school students in this draft became professional players.
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Professional basketball rookie draft 1st round picks |
This is the first time that three high school graduates were selected in a single draft.
Previously, there were two people in 2020 (1st place Cha Min-seok and 14th place Cho Seok-ho).
A total of 42 people (37 from the association and 5 from the general public) participated in this draft, and a total of 26 people achieved their dream of going professional. The nomination rate was 61.9%, slightly lower than last year’s rate of 66.6% (20 out of 30).
Jeong Seong-jo, an ordinary participant who developed his skills through club competitions and 3-on-3 basketball, was nominated by Sono in the third round and entered the professional stage.
Jeong Seong-jo, a 190.6cm forward from Sungkyunkwan University, led the ‘Cosmo’ team to victory in the 2024 Korea 3-on-3 All-Pac Tour earlier this month.
Guard Hwang Young-chan, a Kyung Hee University graduate who attempted the draft last year but was not selected, was selected by Samsung this time and was classified as an ordinary person.
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